


New Year's Eve(s)

by RebeccaDopplemeyer



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Multi, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, bad girl shenanigans, but mostly skimmons, fitz is an affectionate drunk, other ships, skimmons - Freeform, ward likes it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 21:23:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaDopplemeyer/pseuds/RebeccaDopplemeyer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye bit her lip as she realized that Simmons wished that she had been the one to kiss her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Year's Eve(s)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mistletoe and Other Deadly Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110344) by [harlequin421](https://archiveofourown.org/users/harlequin421/pseuds/harlequin421). 



“It, it, it could stay in my bunk!” Fitz slurred, as he gestured with the cocktail in his hand toward his bunk. 

“Fitz, we’ve talked about this,” Ward said, “There’s no way SHIELD is approving a monkey.”

“But will you just talk to Coulson?” Fitz whined.

Ward just rolled his eyes, and took another swig of his drink. Simmons shook her head, and Skye tried unsuccessfully not to laugh, placing her hand on Simmons’s back. 

It had been a good night for Skye. She had spent most of the evening talking to Simmons, which always made her day better. And so what if part of the reason was because of her burgeoning crush on Simmons? It wasn’t serious; it couldn’t be, because it was a crush Simmons wouldn’t possibly reciprocate. No matter how much Skye wished that every evening spent next to her, them watching a movie on her laptop in her bunk, was a sign. 

“OK,” Coulson announced to the group, “May says we’ll be back at the Hub in about seven hours. In the meantime, enjoy the remaining minutes of 2013.”

A little cheer came from the group as they raised their glasses; the blue clock on the big screen read 11:54. 

* * *

“Ten seconds!” Skye said, trying to get the group into the spirit, and they obliged, counting down.

As they neared zero, Fitz slid over between Skye and Jemma, who had stopped their conversation for the countdown.

“Three! Two! One!” 

Even Ward was smiling as they shouted “Happy New Year!” and Skye found Fitz hugging her. He pulled back, and quickly planted a chaste kiss on her lips. Her eyebrows shot up – it wasn’t bad, by any means, but it was unanticipated. But it was New Year’s eve, and for the first time, she felt like she belonged. 

“Happy New Year!” Fitz said, grinning.

“Happy New Year, Fitz,” Skye said, returning his smile.

She saw, out of the corner of her eye, Jemma’s downcast face. In that split second, she tried to process what had happened; was Jemma upset that Fitz hadn’t kissed her instead? No, that wasn’t it; she had told Skye that her friendship with Fitz was purely platonic, and Skye had a good sense for when people were lying, or kidding themselves. 

Skye bit her lip as she realized that Simmons wished that she had been the one to kiss her. Skye thought back through the whole evening. How Simmons had sat so close to her on the couch so that their legs and shoulders were touching. How she had blushed when Skye made an offhand comment about her pretty eyes. And how she had stayed closer to her, the closer it got to midnight. Until poor Fitz had quite literally come between them.

Jemma looked up at Skye, and tried a half-hearted smile before looking away.

Suddenly Skye wished desperately she could have spent New Year’s eve the right way, with her lips against Jemma’s; suddenly all Skye wanted was to be able to turn back time.

It was at that moment when the clock on the big screen changed. The bus was fast, and they had just passed into a new time zone – the local time was 11:07. 

Skye smiled; maybe now she’d have a chance to do it right.

* * *

Syke bumped her shoulder into Jemma’s playfully, and Jemma blushed. God, Skye thought, she’s cute when she blushes. 

It had taken most of the hour, but Skye had gotten Jemma out of her melancholy mood, and now she was smiling. 

Skye leaned in so she didn’t have to raise her voice over the loud, drunk conversations of Ward, Fitz, Coulson, and May. “Do you ever wish you had taken a safe research job, in a lab somewhere?”

Jemma shook her head. “Never. Well… maybe that time I jumped out of the plane…” Jemma raised her eyebrows, trying to make a joke.

But it was still too soon; Skye could only look at her sadly. Ever since Skye had almost lost her, she tried to spend as much time with Simmons as possible, as if she might lose her after all. 

The pain in her eyes must have shown, because Jemma cleared her throat, and tried to move on. “I like being here. Actually seeing the things we do help people. And there are certain people I like being around… who give me a reason to work, and be happy.” 

Skye could smile again. 

“What about you, do you ever wish you were still with Rising Tide? Or do you have someone… here, who makes you happy?” Jemma gulped, and suddenly felt naked and vulnerable, like she had said too much too soon.

“Well,” Skye started, but just then everyone had started to count down. 

“Ten!”

Skye and Jemma looked up at the clock, and back at each other. Jemma licked her lips nervously, her brows knitted together. 

“Nine!” 

“Let me answer that question after…” Skye said.

“Eight!”

“After?” Jemma squeaked.

“Seven!”

“Yeah… I figure—“ Skye started.

“I, uh, I have to go,” Jemma said, looking around for an excuse, and sighting the bathroom, “pee.” 

“Six!”

Jemma was already halfway across the room, and Skye ran a hand through her hair.

Everyone was counting down, except May, who was watching Ward and Fitz count down.

Jemma was in the lavatory, wiping her sweaty palms against her pants, when she heard the rest of the bus shout “Happy New Year’s!”

Fitz hugged Ward, who for once didn’t seem to mind. They separated, though their hands were still on each other’s shoulders.

“Come on, you know you want to,” Fitz said, cocking an eyebrow.

Ward rolled his eyes, but Fitz kissed him anyway, and Skye wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Ward brush his lips against Fitz’s more than the once required by the New Year’s kiss.

Skye chuckled sadly, still a little hurt by Jemma chickening out at the last minute. Ward and Fitz would make a cute couple, but it was sad that everyone was kissing, except her and Jemma. 

Skye sidled up to Ward. “How was it?” 

“Actually… not bad. Not bad at all.” Ward shrugged, and for once did a bad job suppressing a smile, before regaining his composure. Ward was on his fourth drink, but he could handle his liquor, so she knew this wasn’t the vodka talking. 

Skye turned her gaze to the bathroom door. Still shut. “Come on, Jemma,” she said under her breath. 

* * *

When Jemma had finally summoned the courage to come out of the bathroom, the clock was already re-set, and May was handing out the next round of drinks.

Skye walked over to her, and leaned over conspiratorially. “You missed Fitz and Ward kissing.”

This seemed to take Jemma completely by surprise. “Really?”

“Yes! It was… well, it kind of worked for me, let’s be honest.” 

Jemma smirked. “I should’ve been there, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Skye said softly, “you should have been.” 

She reached a hand out for Jemma’s, and taking it, led her over to the drink May had made for her. 

For that hour they stayed close; as they talked, even when it was with Fitz or Ward or Coulson, Skye always stood close, really close, to Jemma. She was close enough to smell her shampoo, a soft floral scent, and occasionally, as one of them shifted weight, to brush against each other. 

The closer she drifted to Jemma, the faster Skye’s heart would beat. The more her breathing would be uneven. She realized, through the slightly heady feelings of alcohol, that if she leaned over just a few inches, she could press her lips against Jemma’s right now.

By this point, everyone on the bus had caught on that midnight was the time to be next to whoever you wanted to kiss. Fitz was hovering halfway between Ward and Skye, drunk and oblivious to how close Skye and Jemma were standing. Even May had broken her silence to strike up a conversation with Coulson, about something other than tactics, for once.

The countdown was starting. Skye looked into Jemma’s eyes, and Jemma looked back at her. She brought up her hand to Jemma’s elbow, and slid a few fingers under the cuff of her dress shirt. 

“Five!”

Jemma bit her lower lip, red and supple, and Skye nearly kissed her right there. 

“Four!”

Skye was having a hard time concentrating on anything else but Jemma’s lips, but she knew there was some noise, someone talking to her.

“Three!”

Jemma was frowning now, and Skye tore her eyes away from her to see Fitz intercede between them again, eyes unfocused from too many drinks. 

“I just had a brilliant idea Skye,” his brogue thicker than usual.

“Two!”

Jemma looked at Skye with panicked eyes, and Skye tried interrupting Fitz.

But he continued. “If you could write a program that could bypass a level four-a system,”

“One!”

“I could produce a delivery device that—“

“Happy New Year!”

Jemma dropped her head, unable to look at Skye, or anything but the floor.

“—could interrupt a security system’s cameras…” Fitz trailed off, blinking, before belatedly yelling, “Happy New Year!” and wandering over to May for another drink.

But May and Coulson had just completed a soft, brief kiss, and were busy trying to suppress smiles. May was doing a better job of that, so far.

Conversation had resumed. Skye closed the gap between her and Jemma again, but it was too late. Jemma looked up at her, before looking away, her eyes watery.

* * *

The party was still going, and even rising to a new pitch, when Skye decided that Jemma was going to need more overt encouragement if this night was going to end the way it should. 

Ward was talking with Skye when she reached out to grab Jemma, looking at her tablet, and pulled her into the conversation. Skye kept her hand on her back, occasionally moving up and down. Jemma was trying not to blush, and pretended to listen very carefully, brows pressed in concentration, at Ward’s description of some utterly boring aspect of the agent selection process.

Jemma kept waiting for Skye to remove her hand, but she never did. With each passing moment she got more and more nervous that Ward was going to notice, and glanced up anxiously at Skye. Skye looked back at her, also not really paying attention to what Ward was saying. And she had this look – this look that meant that, whatever was going on around them, what mattered was her hand on Jemma’s back. 

For the first time in a long time, maybe ever, Jemma could relax, and really be with Skye the way she wanted to be. She subtly took a step closer to Skye, and allowed her shoulder to rest against Skye’s, as Skye continued to rub her back softly.

When Ward excused himself to get another drink, Skye leaned over close enough to Jemma’s ear that she could feel her breath on her neck. She tried not to shiver.

“You look really beautiful tonight,” Skye said. 

Jemma didn’t even have time to blush before Skye kissed her on the cheek, almost close enough that their lips would have grazed each other.

Ward had returned, and was continuing his story, when Skye slipped her hand from Jemma’s back onto her hip. Ward, drunk but never unobservant, raised an eyebrow, before continuing his story.

Skye relished the feeling of Jemma’s hip, and tried desperately not to give into the alcohol-laden part of her that wanted to slip her hand slowly on to Jemma’s ass. 

She looked around, and watched the people she had come to know so well. Coulson was telling the stories, in as animated a way as you could really hope for from him, of his meetings with Thor and Steve Rogers. Fitz was captivated, his mouth open. Sweet Fitz. And even in May’s normally stoic face, Skye could see a hint of excitement, and maybe even wonder. Coulson was so happy. It was new; she had seen him content, and purposeful, and focused before. But until he was with everyone here, never happy.

Meanwhile, Ward was continuing his story, and in mentioning some aspect of training that he thought Skye should take to heart, he gave her an incredibly light punch in the shoulder, along with a rare smile. She smiled back. It was good to have an SO who liked her, and, more importantly, respected her. 

And now she looked at Jemma, who was trying to follow Ward’s story, but kept glancing over at Skye. Jemma who had almost sacrificed herself for everyone here. Jemma who never lost hope. Her Jemma.

Fitz had wandered over, and the countdown was beginning again. 

Once the countdown had begun, Ward had stopped telling his story, and was watching them curiously. 

Fitz tried to steady himself on the table while he looked at Skye.

“Six!”

“Listen,” Fitz said, “about that program, it’ll have to—“

Ward cut him off. “Let’s give the ladies some alone time, shall we?” 

“Five!”

Fitz laughed. “Oh, so, you’ve come back for more, eh?”

Ward smiled. “If that’s part of the deal, I’ll take it.” 

“Four!”

Fitz just grinned as he and Ward left them. “You drive a hard bargain, agent Ward. Luckily I’m a very generous man.” Ward laughed, and leaned over to kiss Fitz once, even before the countdown was over.

“Three!”

Skye looked at Jemma, and pulled her closer, hand still at her hip. 

“You’re not going anywhere,” she whispered.

“Two!”

“Not as long as you’re here,” Jemma answered.

“One!”

Skye leaned over and pressed her lips against Jemma’s, full and soft and warm all at once, unlike any kiss she had ever had. Jemma kissed her back hard, her hands grabbing Skye’s jacket, and pulling her closer.

“Happy New Year!” everyone shouted, and Jemma grinned through the kiss. 

When they broke apart, they saw Coulson watching them, a small smile playing on his lips. 

“I’d say we’ve finally done New Year’s right,” he said. “Let’s get to bed, people.”

Everyone staggered to their bunks, leaving Skye and Jemma outside of Skye’s bunk.

“Happy New Year,” Syke said as she tucked a strand of hair behind Jemma’s ear.

Jemma smiled. “Let’s start the year right, shall we?” And she grabbed Skye close and pushed her into her bunk. Skye closed the door as they kissed, her mouth slowly opening against Jemma’s, finally getting what she had wanted all year.


End file.
